Can Fat Be Healthy?

Trying to maintain a steady low-fat diet can be a confusing process. Fat doesn't just fall under one simple category; it is comprised of three main groups — monounsaturated, polyunsaturated and saturated — each with its advantages and disadvantages.

So which is the healthiest one? Some "non-fat" products claim to be low in one type of fat, but how lean can they be if they contain the other fats? To solve the mystery that is fat, let's examine each category one by one.

But first, check out some fast fat facts (try saying that three times fast!):

fat facts

Half of the adults in America are overweight.

Men trying to keep calories down should avoid fatty food because one gram of fat contains nine calories.

Muscle weighs 23% more than fat. Keep that in mind when trying to lose weight while working out.

We spend calories by simply converting food for energy and for storage. After consuming carbs or protein, 25% of it is immediately spent during this conversion phase. Fat, on the other hand, is much easier to catalyze, with 3% of it going to waste during catalysis. This means more fat is always left over after we eat.

We have two kinds of fat: brown fat (baby fat, mostly used for generating body heat) and white fat (used for energy, protection and heat isolation). The latter is the "bad" kind of fat, but as you can see, it does serve a purpose.

We don't get more fat cells as we get bigger. Once puberty hits, we always have the same amount of fat cells; the cells simply get bigger.

Most of our fat is stored under the skin and around vital organs. Very little fat is stored in muscles.

Insulin in the bloodstream helps store and maintain fat, so drinking that nice big jug of cola with your fries only compounds fat storage.